Handling equipment are manual, semi-automatic and automatic equipment and technologies designed to assist in the movement, protection and control of materials and products in the distribution, storage or manufacturing process.
Handling equipment is a fundamental part of logistics as it optimizes the supply chain.
In the logistics sector, the concept of hinterland refers to areas of influence surrounding the ports. It is in this area that products for export are collected, and imports are distributed. The economic power and consumption capacity of a port’s hinterland to a great extent determines its capacity to attract cargo and traffic.
A Hub Port (maritime Hub or transshipment port) is a port at mainly which concentration and distribution operations are carried out on cargo the origin and/or destination of which is outside the hinterland of the port. A Hub port concentrates its resources essentially on ship-to-ship transshipments; local cargo plays only a minor role. Hub ports are ports that are strategically located along the major shipping routes where these transshipment operations take place.
